The decorator crab will hold a piece of decoration against it shell until it begins to grow there! Find out what’s used as a decoration here.
Marine & Freshwater Environmental Education
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It’s as Easy as A, B, Sea: A Review
We did it! Here is the Beach Chair Scientist’s 2011 version of the A, B, Seas. A is for Agnatha B for Baffin Bay C for Chitin D for Diaz, Bartholomeu E for Epipelagic F for Fulmar G for Gorgonians H for Horseshoe Crab I for Irish Moss J for JOIDES K for Knot L […]
Penguin’s plight progresses
Good news for five of the twelve species of penguins that were petitioned by the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) to be listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. The lucky species that get a break for a time being include the Humboldt penguin of Chile and Peru and the yellow-eyed (pictured top), white-flippered, […]
‘Baby beluga’ dies
I’m not certain if my dear family friend Janie had been watching too much CeeLo Green on television this summer or if she got wind that the little white whale that inspired the classic children’s song ‘Baby Beluga‘ by Raffi Cavoukian died last week, but in any event she asked me to write a post […]
Horseshoe crab craft template
Last year I was pretty proud of my sea & sky pumpkin featuring constellations, a sunset, fish, a seahorse, and horseshoe crabs and I’m at a loss on what to do this year. I started a template for a much larger horseshoe crab so I thought I would share it with you (HSC_template). I actually […]
Happy as a clam
Lately everyone has been asking me how the junior Beach Chair Scientist is doing and I often find myself saying, “Oh! She’s as happy as a clam!” It occurred to me that I didn’t fully understand the expression since clams are not known to smile. I did some research and found out that the phrase […]
Where have all the horseshoe crabs gone?
If you’ve kept on eye on the sandy shores of the Atlantic Ocean or eastern Gulf of Mexico over the past twenty years you’ve noticed a significant decline in the number of horseshoe crabs, Limulus polyphemus, covering the beach. As a marine educator and naturalist in my past life, I always said the decline was […]
Why is the ocean blue?
My immediate answer is that the ocean had a rough day at the office. A lot of people think it is because of the reflection of the sky, but, that is missing an important part of the puzzle. If you think about it the ocean is not really blue everywhere, is it? What needs to […]
Why don’t fish freeze in the Arctic Ocean?
Fish species that frequent the cold temperatures of the Arctic Ocean (e.g., toothfish, cod, ice fish, etc.) have special ‘antifreeze’ proteins within their blood stream that enables them not to freeze in the cold waters of the northern hemisphere. This discovery was made about 50 years ago. Recently, scientists from the Ruhr-University Bochum in Germany […]
What is red tide?
About six years ago I went to a wedding on the Gulf of Mexico which was extraordinary except for the occurrence of red tide. Don’t get me wrong, the guests and bride and groom all had a fabulous time despite the red tide. How did it affect us? We were not permitted to swim in […]
How fresh is your seafood?
Oceana teamed up with artist Don Foley to produce this infographic illustrating how our delicious seafood gets from hook to the icy fish case in our local food store. Shockingly, Oceana states that “Eighty-four percent of seafood eaten in the U.S. is imported, and it follows an increasingly complex path from a fishing boat to […]
Resources & more …
Flickr photos …
What people are saying …
- Robert Emahiser on Why you should never walk on dunes
- Lesa on 10 brief facts on bioluminescence
- Lisa on Limulus Love
- Beach Chair Scientist on 17 facts about the wee sea potatoes
- Bernard Rejterada on 17 facts about the wee sea potatoes
- Brian on What is the difference between a summer and winter flounder?
- Inbound marketing on 15 facts about the Portuguese man-of-war that’ll have you saying “Didya know…?”
- Donnie Huckabee on Wordless Wednesday | Shell art
- John on Why you should never walk on dunes
- ItzJaylaD on What I know about whale sharks
Top posts & pages from BCS …
- Hurricane vs. Cyclone vs. Typhoon
- A House for Hermit Crab
- How to handle a horseshoe crab
- Snot's your house
- Wednesday Wisdom: Various quotes (Alaska scenes)
- A naturalist's must-see destination: Fossil Hunting at Bayfront State Park in Chesapeake Beach, MD
- Belly biology creates lasting memories
- Five awful puns about courtship in the sea
- Horseshoe crabs confirmed as members of arachnid family
- Beyond the bag: Other plastics being banned
Enjoying this series!